[NickyTrbo]

I've just bought the Flyslot Porsche 917 LH - Test Le Mans 1970.

I recently started looking at manufacturers other than Scalextric. Having grown up only knowing about/of Scalextric I'm really surprised at quite how many different manufacturers there are.

I was attracted to Fly for the detail and because they appear to be more realistic (I like my cars to look as much like the real thing as possible so I liked the fact that the Fly Lotus 78 has JPS sponsorship... just because it does then seem to be more realistic).

But this Porsche 917 has a few problems: the windscreen has clearly not been fully pushed into place and I can see from the little tabs (?) that would hold it in place that if I just push it in they would break, so I'll need to open it up; there is a small but clearly visible crack on the inside of the windscreen (it cannot be felt to the touch on the outside but is obvious when viewed); and there is an unseemly 1mm gap at the rear of the car between the top half and the bottom half of the chassis... and no amount of pressure seems to take care of it.

To put it mildly I'm rather disappointed... and from some other comments I've read here and there this doesn't seem to be that unusual for Fly. Is that so? Is there always going to be a trade off (with Fly) of great quality versus needing to carry out some maintenance even when the car is straight out of the box? Or have I just been unlucky and got the wrong end of the stick regarding what I have read?

Nicky.

 

[paulporsche]

It's funny...many have voiced the same complaints as you. On the other hand, I've never had anything wrong with any Fly or Flyslot I've had, beyond some minor requirement for gear/wheel spacing. Maybe just lucky...?

 

[valie]

I have never had those quality problems with the three Fly cars that I had. The Ferrari F40 was used to race in the GT class at our club until the chassis finally gave up. With the Joest Porsche we had less success in the LMP class. The upgrades we did to them were new motors, axles and gears from Slot.it and a full set of wheels from Slotingplus. We have ultimately replaced both of these cars with a Slot.it Nissan R390 as an LMP and an NSR Audi R8 for the GT's. The motor configuration of the Panoz prevented it from competing at all. So, as racers, they do need a lot of tuning, but to look at and race with on your home track they are great!

 

[Dopamine]

Sadly, many Fly cars were beautiful but flawed, usually with great bodies but dodgy running gear. Not so long ago, following commercial problems, Fly morphed into Flyslot and quality sank even lower. I've only bought eight Flyslot cars (as opposed to 100+ Fly cars), so it's not a huge sample, but all of them have been of worse quality than their Fly produced forebears, two being so bad that I returned them to the retailer. Problems have ranged from a BMW M1 with paint that rubbed off, to a March 761B that was missing a full set of exhausts.

Whereas in the past I was happy to buy a Fly car online (because the body was usually fine and only the running gear had problems) I will no longer buy a Flyslot car unless I've seen it in the flesh first; fixing running gear isn't too difficult, fixing dodgy bodies is.

My advice to you is to avoid buying the latest Flyslot cars unless you first see the actual car you're buying. The older Fly and GB Track cars are a much safer bet, although it's likely that you'll still need to do a small amount of remedial work or modification to get the car to run problem free.

Hopefully Flyslot will improve its quality control soon, before it fatally damages its brand's reputation.

 

[90s F1 Kid]

This year I purchased 8 fly cars.

All have issues and I can honestly say unless it's an exceptional model which I can't get elsewhere I wont buy another.

Fortunately there are better producers making some similar items. If its a Porsche 917 I'll buy NSR, if it's group 5 i'll go Sidewsys by racer. Best of all these are similar on price with much better mechanicals.

The Flys are beautiful but for me there going to be left on the shelf in the main.

 

[Zilched]

When Fly starts using gears that are not total garbage and does some quality control, I *might* buy a car from them.
I've examined 100's of Fly cars, some so bad they can't be raced, gears so bad they fall apart before one lap, tires so out of round even a sanding can't help, wheels with so much flashing that it appears never to be trimmed, and none of this is uncommon.
I had hopes that FlySlot would be better, but the same trash gears, same problems... When you have others producing quality cars with pro-gears, wonderful wheels, bodies that rival Fly and running like a top right out of the box, why would anyone spent cash on a Flyslot unless you Had to have a certain model? Even if you are tempted to buy a Flyslot for a livery or model, just wait and NSR, Slot.It or someone else will make it better with quality parts.

I think those who work for Fly and those who run it should start acting like they care, you are in Spain, times are tough, you should be producing the best cars in the world, you did once... what happen?

 

[Screwneck]

Fly will never get better and they will never change. Things got good in construction for a few years after 2004, but then all went to pot.

Fly and Flyslot don't make particularly well-built cars in comparison to Scalex. I suggest you do not fiddle with it, but simply ask for a refund. Too many people accept poor quality and tamper with it. it's a sad feature of slotcar enthusiasts. If everyone returned bad goods manufacturers would be forced to make them better. In the meantime, they make poor stuff, people pay a fortune for the honour, and the manufacturer laughs all the way to the bank.

If you have the awful grey/black gears and bearings you will find they also split and come off the axle quite easily. And the black-end motors are weaker performance than Scalex. Take it back to where you bought it from and demand a refund.

 

[dodge]

TBH I'm a big fan of the Fly Racing series cars and I have 50+ fly cars in my collection.

But fly's quality control is seriously lacking and people can't spend £40+ on a car
when you need to replace the crown , pinnion and tyres just to get it running.

Just buy a slot it or NSR instead.

Its a real shame becuase they used to make excellent looking cars.

 

[matthew77]

Hi,

I agree, with Fly cars, if its possible check them in the flesh first.

Sorry to jump on the bandwagon. When Fly first appeared on the market their cars were superior to everything else I bought RTR (Scalextric, SCX and Ninco) and were probably one of the reasons Scalextric upped their game in terms of detail, quality and performance. I bought numerous early Fly cars (2 x Viper, 2 x Marcos and 2 x Venturi and many others). Back then Fly weren't that expensive, at worst £30 and much faster then Scalextric out the box without any work.

The past few years FLy/Flyslot have made nicely detailed cars but with serious quality control issues and bumped the price up to approx £45. I have not had problems with the body work but I have had numerous cars with duff gears and won't run at all until I replaced the pinion gear so the gears meshed and turned each other. I bought the recent Alfa TZ2 and just can't cure a strange noise caused by a rear wheel.

I agree Fly really need to sort out their quality control, then they can claw back customers and their reputation.

I used to think FLy were the best, now I avoid them as much as possible as I don't want to buy a car I have to dismantle before I can use it.

I hope Fly read these comments and get the problems sorted out.

Many thanks

Matthew

 

[Weber91]

Hi Nicky,

Seems like you've gotten a whole lot of good advice from alot of racers.

By all means, buy what you like but the common theme with Fly seems to be quality control.

If you are going to continue to purchase Fly cars, check them out in person first and be prepared to spend more money to get them running well.

Not a big fan of Fly, not worth the money or the trouble.

Dan

 

[Marky Mark]

It's a shame on people's comments on the Fly cars, have they been improved over time though?

I really like the Porsche 917's, how do the Slot it & NSR versions compare on track?

But are the older Fly 917's better than the newer one's out of the box?

Also are the newer versions of the 917 easier to chip than the older one's?

Seems a shame that you have to amputate the drivers legs to get a chip in

 

[90s F1 Kid]

The new flyslot cars (which I don't own) seem to have a much improved chassis, 917 included. However there is much less detail now such as no actual head lamps behind the front lights.

I'm very keen on the new Kramer Porsche C5, but if I do purchase one I'm prepared to put in a full slot.it rear end (axel, wheels, gears) and motor.

Also worth mentioning that one of the original founders of fly has a new operation called SRC, they've just come to market and I'm have my first one on route from the UK so fingers crossed it does not suffer from the same issues which have plagued Fly.

NSRs are flat out some of the best cars I own. No issues straight out if the box good to go. The NSR 917 is a particular favourite of mine I now have 5 and I have ever done is remove the magnet. Some NSRs like the corvette have a drop arm guide which I'm not a fan of, but an extra screw is supplied to lock the arm into the chassis, and adjustable front ride height which needs to be set up. Over all excellent cars.

I own probably close to 40 slot.its (my personal fav) and very rarely have issues. Performance is up there with NSR and equally an enjoyable drive. Very rarely have quality probs usually they are picked up by their quality control department and remedy is provided (ie current Audi R18 silver tampo issue - replacement decals provided). Note that slot.it don't produce a 917 as yet.

Would suggest buying one of each to see if you like them.

Hope that's some help to you.

Cheers,